


Reverse Psychology

by KuHana



Category: SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron
Genre: AU, Dark Swat Kats, F/M, Felina is done with everyones shit, Good guy Callie, Sort Of, Swat Kats hate everybody, Swat Kats swear a lot, anti-heros, good vs bad, like a lot, they don't know how to stop, vigilantes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2019-11-24 06:33:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18162512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KuHana/pseuds/KuHana
Summary: AU that takes place in the Dark Swat Kats universe, only this time, Callie is still fresh out of college, overworked, tired, a good guy, and probably the only one who the Swat Kats give a damn about.But the trials Callie has to go through to gain their trust are... nerve racking.





	1. Bad Feeling

**Author's Note:**

> So I've recently just been re-watching a bunch of Swat Kats episodes, and I forgot how completely amazing this show is!
> 
> Actually, the Dark Swat Kats episode really got me thinking. What if, in that universe, Callie was a good guy and a bit to curious about why the Swat Kats are such bad guys. 
> 
> How does the saying go? Curiosity killed the cat? Well, hopefully, both Razor and T-Bone give enough of a damn to keep our favorite deputy mayor safe. 
> 
> I'm also taking prompts. So message me if you guys want to see a specific scenario play out.

Callie sighed and watched as the jet streaks painted the stormy sky grey. Well, looks like the enforcers were busy trying to capture the Swat Kats again, as usual...  but could she blame them?

 

The Swat Kats where evil; constantly stealing from banks (one of their more mundane crimes), blowing up buildings, creating mutants and experimenting with dangerous chemicals. By all accounts, they were public enemy number one, and Callie was always left quivering after every one of their attacks.

 

The enforcer jets soon disappeared, and the Deputy Mayor, still fresh out of college, continued her walk home, making a pit stop by the local bakery for a small to-go treat- something for her long nights at the office, writing out the Mayor's many speeches.

 

Maybe later, when she wasn't feeling so overworked and tired, Callie could call up Felina and ask what those vigilantes did this time.

 

Maybe, if the enforcers were lucky, they’d catch the Swat Kats and lock them up.

 

… no, that was wishful thinking.

 

Callie racked her fingers through her fluffy hair and pushed her glasses up her nose. A midnight breeze blew past her shoulders, ruffling the plastic bag from the bakery, and for some reason, it gave Callie a bad feeling.


	2. The SWAT Kats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Swat Kats make a quick cameo and Callie gets another headache

Yet another building destroyed, reduced to nothing but rubble after the Swat Kats shot their missiles at it. Thankfully, the enforcers were right on their tail, with Commander Feral shouting into his intercom.

 

Callie ducked, stifling a scream when the TurboKat swung down, flying just over her head, whisking her hair up into the wind as it disappeared behind a storm of clouds. The Deputy Mayor shivered, fighting back the telltale signs of a headache. 

 

“ _Why you damn criminals,”_ Feral’s voice filled the air. _“I’m going to blast you out of the sky!”_

 

 _“Ha! I’d like to see ya try, old man,”_ Razor shouted back while deploying dead-head missiles. They quickly detached from the TurboKat, flying down and coating the enforcer jets in black, foul-smelling tar.

 

Callie sighed.

 

The Swat Kats got away again, and Feral was forced to land his squadron. No one was happy. The commander was in a rage, hissing to himself under his breath, and Mayor Manx (once he arrived, in that stretch limo of his) was mumbling to someone on the phone, trying to figure out how much this little accident would set him back.

 

Meanwhile, Callie tried to calm down her racing heart and pressed a clammy paw to her chest. She had to ask herself, not for the first time, how much more damage would MegaKat City have to endure before those criminals were caught. The Deputy Mayor bit her lip. 

 

_Why?_

 

Why did the Swat Kats do what they did? What pushed them to become such high profile criminals?

 

Unfortunately, those answers were probably long lost, and Callie was left to speculate, coming up with theories and ideas that never really went beyond the drawing board.


	3. MadKat, Part One

 

_BOOM!_

 

Chunks of concrete when flying everywhere, raining down on the citizens of MegaKat City like hail. Callie was lucky enough to find refuge behind her car, sporting only a few scrapes and bruises. She didn’t dare peek out, however, fearing that if she did, something might slam into her forehead and knock clean her out.

 

Another explosion rattled the city and sick laughter filled the air.

 

_“Haha! What’s wRonG Feral? Can’t catch what you can’t SEE?! Ahaha!”_

 

Callie grimaced. MadKat was back at it again, agitating the enforcers in the worst ways possible (this included throwing invisible bombs everywhere and morphing everyday objects into living nightmares), and in the wake of his psychotic destruction, two pricey buildings were now reduced to a pile of bricks and ash.

 

The Deputy Mayor could hear the enforcer jets flying around the tall joker, and it vaguely reminded her of the fruit flies back in the Mayor’s office.

 

This was bad! Very bad! Callie wanted to believe Feral could stop the threat, but the reality was not so kind and watching up close, she was forced to face the music: the enforcers were not enough. Not this time. It was a gut-wrenching realization, but MadKat had power. Lots and lots of power. Heck, with a flick of his wrists, he could turn a jet into a bouncing ball.

 

Callie felt her stomach knot.

 

What could she do? What could she do? What could she-- _wait, what’s that?_

 

Callie felt something on the back of her neck prick, and on instinct, she glanced up, her eyes widening out of sheer disbelief. There, hovering above the Pumadine Chemical Facility, where the Swat Kats.

 

_But wait, what are they doing there?_

 

Callie didn’t have an answer, but she wanted one. She wanted an answer for all her questions.

 

Her bones still felt like jello, and the warmth in her forehead was starting to morph into another headache, but even so, she still lifted herself and ran.

 

* * *

 

 

The Chemical Facility was… large, and wound around like a maze. Callie felt her head spin and pressed herself up against the wall for support. She had no idea how long she spent just wondering around, but it felt like a lifetime. Where the criminals even there anymore? Maybe they left, and Callie's just been wasting her time.

 

… that might be for the best, something in the Deputy Mayor's mind echoed. After all, she didn’t _really_ have a plan, and there was no guarantee the Swat Kats wouldn't just kill her on sight. 

 

“Maybe I should head back--”

 

 _“Watch it,”_ a rough voice snapped, startling the Deputy Mayor into a near heart attack.

 

 _“Next time, don’t get in my way, bolt-for-brains!”_ That had to be T-Bone, so that made the other voice, the first one, Razor’s.

 

Oh god. They sounded so _close_!

 

Callie fidgeted, strands of blonde hair falling over her eyes. Maybe this really was a bad idea after all. Maybe she should head back… but then what? The city was still under attack, Feral was still having trouble obtaining MadKat, and the citizens- the blonde shook her head. She had to at least try! For pete sakes, she was Deputy Mayor for a reason!

 

So, gathering all the courage she could muster, Callie righted herself and took shaky steps towards the acidic voices.

 

But before she could reach them, something struck the building, and the floors and walls began to morph, changing from plane green to bright yellow and orange.

 

_“What the fuck--”_

 

 _“Crude, it’s that idiot MadKat,”_ Razor hissed.

 

Callie gasped. MadKat?

 

She quickly looked around and almost screamed when she saw a large ball with spikes rolling her way. Laughter echoed throughout the halls, enjoying the torment and dread that filled the blonde she-kat. The laughter grew louder when Callie took off running, and without thinking (the sheer need to survive had taken over, and her mind was shutting down ever so slowly), the Deputy Mayor ducked into the room the Swat Kats where in.

 

Could her day get any worse?


	4. MadKat, Part Two

MadKat took over the Pumidine Chemical Facility fairly quickly, absorbing the building, and morphing it into a funhouse full of horrors. Naturally, the enforcers had no way of getting in, and Callie had no way of getting out, but that wasn't her initial problem.

 

Right now, she had to try and convince the two most dangerous criminals in MegaKat City that letting her live was better than killing her on the spot.

 

Easier said than done.

 

T-Bone was hellbent on ramming Callie through with his glove-a-trix, but Razor was more interested in torture, said something about how a slow and painful death being so much more fun. That led to a fight, and the Deputy Mayor was thanking the heavens for some bought time.

 

That is until Callie noticed something moving around behind a few shelves. She squinted, tilted her head just so, and-- _oh god, is that a snake?_

 

“Watch out!” she screamed.

 

Her warning was enough to snap the Swat Kats out of their argument, the two acting on impulse alone when the large, multi-colored snake jumped out of the shadows, trying to rip apart T-Bone’s flesh.

 

Callie gasped, watching with a mix of amazement and horror as both vigilantes grabbed opposite ends of the animal and pulled it apart. The remains crumbled to the floor, and the once realistic serpent was reduced to nothing but foam and string. Another one of MadKat’s tricks.

 

Razor knocked his partner upside the head with his glove-a-trix.

 

T-Bone growled but didn’t say anything.

 

It was an odd exchange, and Callie didn’t know what to make of it, but that was an issue for another day. “Are you two okay?” she asked.

 

“Don’t act like you give a shit,” T-Bone grumbled, picking up a large, hourglass-like container and threw it over his shoulder.

 

Razor rolled his eyes.

 

“I do,” Callie tried, “that’s why I asked. And I saw your jet on the roof. MadKat probably hide it somewhere. If we get to the surveillance room, we might be able to find where it is from there?”

 

“Oh? And why would _you_ help _us?”_ Razor asked, glaring at her through his mask.

 

“We _both_ want to get out of this alive, right?”

 

“What if we off ya the minute we’re all up in the sky?” Razor shot back.

 

Callie felt her blood run cold. Would they…? She shook her head. No. Thinking like that would get her nowhere. She needed to stay as calm and level-headed as possible. “I’d like to believe you wouldn’t.”

 

T-Bone snorted. “Kats like to believe a lot of things. Doesn't mean it'll come true.”

 

There was an underlying meaning to his words and a gruesome ring that left Callie reeling. She glanced over at Razor through her bangs, wondering what he’d say.

 

He just gave her the bird.

 

“You have my word I will help you, and I won’t report anything to Feral,” the blonde tried. This was her last resort. She knew Feral was someone both Swat Kats _hated_ , and anything to get under his skin made their day. That was common knowledge if all the insults they threw at the commander was anything to go off of.

 

Relief washed over the blonde’s body when she saw both kats considering her offer.

 

Maybe things would work out—

 

The building started to shake and bombs exploded in the lower levels, going off one by one. Callie didn’t have the lung power to scream, her bones freezing the moment she felt the floor cracking under her.

 

The Swat Kats exchanged looks, nodded, and took off, Razor grabbing Callie on their way out and throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

 

“Alright, Deputy, ya got a deal,” the thinner tom shouted over the noise. “And if your lying, I’m gonna kill you!”

 


	5. MadKat, Part Three

In truth, Callie had no idea where the surveillance room was (she'd only been at the Chemical Facility a handful of times), so finding a map without alerting the Swat Kats to her ‘predicament’ was top priority.

 

Thankfully, Feral eased up on the bombs, after seeing they didn’t work, and Pumidine was stable once more, for now anyway.

 

No one talked. T-Bone and Razor kept pretty much to themselves, and while Callie was happy they no longer fought, the dead silence was… awkward, creepy, unsettling.

 

Maybe she should say something? Ease the tension? Break the ice? 

 

Callie twirled a lock of blonde hair around her finger, nervously looking around until… Wait, was that a map? The she-kat hide a smile behind her hand, and when she got close enough, she swiped the map off the wall.

 

Razor arched an eyebrow. “The hell was that for?”

 

Callie jolted. “Huh? O-oh… just to make sure we’re going the right way?”

 

“Thought you said you knew your way around this dump,” T-Bone grumbled.

 

“My memory’s not what it use to be?”

 

“What are ya, a goddamn old lady,” the leaner vigilante jabbed.

 

“Well, working as deputy mayor, it often feels that way.”

 

Razor snorted, and T-Bone stifled a gravelly chuckle. Both sounded degrading towards her character, but hey, at least they had a sense of humor (maybe?). 

 

Callie tucked that little bit of info away for later. Good to know.

 

* * *

 

 

“Left! Turn left! The lab is supposed to be at the end of the hall!"

 

“Ya heard the Deputy. Left it is,” Razor shouted, and all three veered, shooting down the left hallway, trying to outrun the poisonous jack-in-the-boxs.

 

“They're still comin’,” T-Bone warned.

 

“Then shoot them, you idiot!”

 

“Choke on a hairball!” The bulkier kat snapped, but even so, he turned and shot a few small missiles from his glove-a-trix, taking out all three of the possessed toys. “Alright!”

 

Razor threw a thumbs up over his shoulder, slamming the door shut when all three were inside a deserted lab, safe, and with all their limbs intact.

 

“That was close,” Callie gasped, clutching her chest, the map held tightly in her fist.

 

T-Bone brushed off his weapon and readjusted the hourglass container on his shoulder.

 

“You didn’t damage the thing, did you?” Razor snapped.

 

“Of course not, I’m not stupid.”

 

“Ha! That's debatable.”

 

“Fuck you too, sureshot.”

 

Callie rubbed her forehead. Did they always fight like this? Hopefully not, or getting out of this nightmare funhouse was going to be that much harder.

 

“Um, guys?”

 

The two criminals sneered in her direction but quieted down when she ushered them closer. She had the ‘stolen’ (Callie refused to call it stolen) map laid out on a testing table, pointing to the lab they were in. “This is us.” And traced her finger up, stopping at a room labeled ‘servalicne’. “And this is where we’ll locate your jet.”

 

“Two levels up,” Razor mumbled, more to himself than anyone else. “Think you can handle it, _T-Bone_?”

 

“Only if I don’t have to keep your dumbass safe--”

 

“ _But!_ Madkat has his goons all over the halls. We might be able to take the service stairs, but…” A shiver ran down Callie’s spine. “I wouldn't chance it. Maybe if we pry the elevator doors open we can climb up to the surveillance room?”

 

Razor and T-Bone exchanged looks.

 

“Not a bad idea, blondie.” The bulkier kat said.

 

Razor gave Callie a shrug. “Worth a try. It’s not like we have any other _bright ideas.”_

 

* * *

 

 

Callie’s plan (if you could even call it that) ended up working, and all three managed to get into the surveillance room unscathed and unseen.

 

The room itself was big, full of computers and monitors, all depicting MadKat’s warped renovation of Pumedine.

 

T-Bone slapped his partner on the back. “Get to work, _buddy._ This is your department.”

 

Razor sneered and shrugged T-Bone’s handoff. “Just guard the door,” he hissed, moving over to the controls, knelt, and popped the cover off with his claw. Wiring was always difficult, and the whole ‘always cut the red wire’ was bullshit as far as Razor was concerned.

 

Sweat rolled down the leaner Swat Kat’s spine, and he felt the need to lash out every time his partner told him to ‘hurry it up, we don’t have all damn day’.

 

“Shut up, T-Bone!”

 

“Work faster and I will.”

 

Razor growled, sharp fangs poking into his bottom lip. Oh, he was going to drop-kick his T-Bone halfway across the room by the time this was all over. The smaller kat needed quiet to work, he needed to tune out all outside distractions and focus solely on the wires. Shouting in his ear was not going to do shit.

 

The brainiac nearly cut the wrong wire when someone’s soft paw was placed on his shoulder, and the strong smell of mango filled his nose.

 

“Relax,” Callie whispered, and for some reason, her voice was oddly soothing- nice even. It was such a stark contrast from all the crap both he and T-Bone had to hear. 

 

Callie smiled (and she tried so hard to hide the fear she felt), warmth radiating off her pretty face.

 

Razor frowned, eyeing her suspiciously, but continued working until his mind picked out the right wire to cut. “Bingo!”

 

“Fuckin’ finally.” T-Bone thumped his fist against his partner's helmet. “So where's our damn jet?”

 

Razor and Callie stood up, and the burgundy tom quickly typed in a few commands, now in full control, and switched the monitors to rotate through the building until a large, black, red, and green jet was spotted near the basement level, tucked between two cargo boxes.

 

“Just great,” T-Bone muttered, “now we gotta haul our asses all the way down there.”

 

“You got any better ideas,” Razor shot back, already turning on his heel. “Just make sure you don’t drop that bomb.”

 

“Why don’t I drop it on your head.”

 

“Why don't you drop off a cliff.”

 

Callie sighed but kept her eyes glued to the monitor screen. So we found the jet, now what? She still had to somehow try and convince the Swat Kats to help her defeat MadKat… and that bomb they stole from Pumidine, what was it for?

 


	6. MadKat Part Four

Callie wasn't sure what was worse, being sandwiched between two high profile criminals or getting attacked by store mannequins with blasters embedded in their foreheads. 

 

Both Razor and T-Bone had their shields activated, deflecting the blasts as best as they could, and the Deputy Mayor felt herself sinking down, her shoulders brushing up against their g-suits. This was, by far, the most danger Callies ever been in, but her brain could only keep hold of one piece of info at the moment: MadKat was enemy. Swat Kats where… for the moment, something else. 

 

“Damn it! They just keep coming!” T-Bone shouted. 

 

Razor growled, his brain working a mile a minute. How to get out of this alive? How could he get all of their asses out of this alive? The tom kat glanced up and noticed an opening in the ceiling (probably a side effect of their one-sided battle) and grinned. Bingo. 

 

“Hey, idiot, I might have an idea--”

 

“ _Might?”_

 

“Just shut up and listen. Take the Deputy and swing your ugly self to the floor above.” Razor jabbed his claw up to the hole in the ceiling. “I’ll distract the dummies.”

 

T-Bone’s tail twitched. “And the bomb?”

 

“What about the bomb. Take it with you,” Razor snapped, gearing up his glove-a-trix for combat, loading it up with a few baby-boomer missiles. When T-Bone had yet to move, and the leaner Swat Kat shot his partner a withering look. “ _What?”_

 

T-Bone narrowed his eyes. “Just don’t die, dumbass.”

 

“Like I plan on it.” And with that, Razor took off, firing missiles at the dummies. 

 

T-Bone sighed and suddenly felt very, very exhausted. His bones were sour, his nerves at their wits end. This day just kept dragging on. He pushed it all aside, hoisting the Deputy over his other shoulder, and pulled them all up to the level above, using a small grappling hook that was tucked in right under the surface of his glove. 

 

Callie gasped, feeling the air rush out of her lungs before she felt her feet settle on a somewhat stable surface. 

 

The two where safe. 

 

Razor was not. 

 

Both T-Bone and Callie could hear shots below them, followed by curses (no doubt Razor’s), and explosions until… suddenly, everything went silent, the dust settling from the short-lived battle. The Deputy Mayor chewed her bottom lip, and beside her, T-Bone held his breath. 

 

The silence was suffocating. 

 

…

…

…

 

A grappling hook shot up, coiling around a pipe, and Razor appeared moments later, landing safely beside his bulkier partner. 

 

“Still holding your breath, _pal_?” 

 

T-Bone sneered. “Ya, ya. Let's just get moving. The faster we get out of here, the faster we get home.”

 

Razor snorted. “No place like home.” 

  
  


* * *

 

 

They fell into silence again, but this time, Callie didn’t mind it. T-Bone and Razor opted to travel via elevator shaft again, pushing the doors aside and using their grappling hooks to lower themselves to the basement. The Deputy Mayor had her arms wrapped around Razor’s neck, and shivered every time the building shook. 

 

“Keep quivering like that and I might just drop you,” Razor hissed. 

 

“Sorry,” Callie whispered, “I didn’t mean to.”

 

“Just don’t do it again.”

 

* * *

 

 

The basement looked like the rest of the possessed building; creepy, bright (yet somehow very dark), and covered in yellow/orange checkers. The only thing that stood out was the TurboKat, still pushed between the two shipping crates, still untouched by MadKat. 

 

T-Bone smirked and patted the jet’s wheel. “Still in one piece.”

 

“Thankfully. I’m not in the mood to make new repairs,” Razor muttered.

 

The top of the jet creaked open, and a few gears shifted, echoing in the silent basement. T-Bone hopped in, setting the bomb inside the cargo pit. 

 

Razor geared up to jump in too but stopped when he noticed the Deputy Mayor glued to her spot. He exhaled through his nose. “What’s the matter now?”

 

“I just wasn’t sure if you’d…” She trailed off, awkwardly.  

 

“We had a deal, didn’t we.”

 

“Yes, but—“

 

Razor shrugged. “So, what's the problem?”

 

“MegaKat City.”

 

Now, the burgundy tom was growing suspicious. “What about it?” He bit out. 

 

“Well, MadKat—“

 

“No.”

 

Callie frowned, her palms growing clammy again. “The enforcers can’t stop him, Razor!”

 

“Not my problem.”

 

“But—“

 

“Hey, what's the hold-up,” T-Bone shouted. 

 

“Come down here and find out!”

 

T-Bone growled but reluctantly got out of his prized jet, landing beside his partner, and fixed Callie with a glare. “What's. The. Hold. Up.” It wasn’t a question, it was a demand. 

 

“Deputy mayor here wants us to save the day,” Razor jabbed. 

 

“Imagine that.”

 

Callie swallowed thickly, the fur on her neck growing warmer with fear, desperation, and frustration. “Why not? You guys live here, why not try and protect your home?”

 

“The city’s done shit for us,” T-Bone fired back, his frustration fueling the energy behind his words. “Why should we lift a claw to help it? That’s why you have the _enforcers,_ isn't it?” 

 

“Hah! Haven’t you been listening buddy, the enforcers aren’t enough _this time_.”

 

“Oh, how could I forget.” The bulky kat turned his back to the duo. “Find some other saps to help. We aren’t it.”

 

Callie frowned, and something inside of her broke. That’s right. What was she hoping to accomplish by this? The Swat Kats where criminals above all else, and they didn’t help anyone unless it profited them. 

 

That’s why they helped Callie. It was for insurance and nothing more. 

 

_What was she expecting?_

  
  



End file.
